Shopping

Kakao

Address: Avenue Principal de las Mercedes Phone: 212 993 5583 Timings: Mondays to Sundays 9am to 9pm Located on the second floor of the Paseo shopping mall, Kakao is an excellent choice for local confectionery and baked eatables. Chocolate in all sizes and wrappings, from the usual milky and coconut flavors to exotic varieties of chocolate you never even knew existed. You can select one or two artistically crafted boxes from an assortment of packing types to finally hold your selection of chocolates, and then go about the store filling them with whatever catches your eye!

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Centro Commercial Chacaito

Market

Address: Plaza Chacaito, Chacao district Situated by Plaza Chacaito, the central landmark piazza within the elite Chacao district, the Chacaito mall is known for its pleasing variety of everyday casual wear garments and accessories. The place also contains a well-stocked supermarket, and a café which offers some very fine cappuccino.

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Centro Commercial Paseo

Address: Avenue Principal de Las Mercedes, Las Mercedes district Phone: 212 991 3164 Timings: Mondays to Saturdays 10am to 8pm Paseo is for Caraqueños living the high life! Aptly situated in one of the city’s most elite neighborhoods, Paseo is an old mall that the citizens have come to trust when it comes to authentic jewelry, especially gold and silver bracelets, designer labels in apparel, cosmetics and accessories, and charming interior décor. The mall offers, apart from the high-end, not-so-inexpensive garments and electronic gadgets, a commendable bookstore with a large international collection, a splendid cinema house, the mall’s own health and beauty salon, a well-stocked pharmacy, and a collection of some of the city’s tastiest diners and cafés. Hotel Paseo Las Mercedes, a high-end hotel that offers excellent service to guests, is included within the mall’s premises. Also within the mall, Transnocho Cultural, a very happening place for intellectuals and postmodernists, attracts a sizeable audience to its regularly held musical programs, art exhibitions, and performances. For the party loving horde, the mall includes its own nightclub – you can experience a subtle shift in the kind of crowd as the hours start setting in. Parking is available in the mall’s own garage.

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San Ignacio

Modest dress

Address: Avenida Blandín, La Castellana, Caracas Phone: 212 263 3953 Timings: Mondays to Saturdays 10am to 3am Two splendid elliptical towers with seemingly infinite terraces, resembling an ultramodern space station or a high-income futuristic elite colony, the San Ignacio is a visual marvel in itself for its visitors. The mall offers ridiculously expensive designer garments and footwear, fashion accessories, both locally crafted and internationally branded, and the latest in electronic gadgetry including computers, cell phones, and video games. The mall also contains a number of popular diners and coffee shops, perfect for that break in your tiring shopping day. An incredible cinema with VIP seating adds another dimension to the mall. Thus, San Ignacio forms a multi-faceted entertainment complex. As dusk falls, San Ignacio makes a smooth transition from a shopper’s paradise to a partygoers’ haven. With its numerous clubs and late-night bars serving up all kinds of shots to heart pumping music, San Ignacio entertains the city from morning till the very early hours of the morning again. Underground parking with valet service is available for up to 2000 cars.

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Centro Commercial Ciudad Tamanaco (CCCT)

Address: Avenue Principal de Las Mercedes Phone: 212 959 2169 Timings: Mondays to Saturdays 9am to 9pm, Sundays 1pm to 7pm Situated in Las Mercedes, the hip and happening part of Caracas, the CCCT is the perfect place to head to if you have a sizeable wallet or a collection of credit cards that actually work! The inverted half-pyramidal shape of the mall attracts many an unsuspecting tourist from a long distance, who wanders inside unaware of the outrageously expensive goods on display. CCCT is famous for its more than 500 shops and boutiques that sell anything from garments to undergarments and all in between and beyond. The stores contain toys, electronics, high end décor, and authentic artwork, apart from the mundane groceries and items of daily use. CCCT houses two nightclubs that rage on all night, a charming variety of international diners arranged around an artistically designed food court, and a splendid movie theater. The mall contains an indoor parking space for 6000 cars. Weekends get especially crowded, when people come not only to shop, but to eat, watch movies, and dance all night!

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Centro Lido

Address: Avenue Francisco de Miranda, El Rosal district Phone: 212 952 7196 Timings: Mondays to Saturdays 10am to 8pm Located in another elite neighborhood within Caracas, Lido presents a shopping experience marked by authentic serenity and comfort that many other malls fail to provide. Firstly, the mall is not very crowded – this may be due to the fact that its prices are WAY too high for common Caraqueños to even window-shop. The mall is actually complementary to an already existing office space, containing facilities like beauty salons, perfume and cosmetics stores, and fitness centers, which cater exclusively to its stinking rich corporate clientele. The mall offers high-end designer gear, accessories, jewelry, and footwear. It also houses two incredible movie theatres, more than a dozen authentic international diners, and a five-star hotel. Even if you do not shop, the mall offers an exciting insight into the lives of the city’s elite.

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Centro Commercial El Tolón

Address: Nicholas Copernico Road, south of Plaza Alfredo Sadel, El Rosal disrtict Timings: Mondays to Saturdays 10am to 9pm, Sundays and holidays 12noon to 8pm A lavish upscale mall that has recently entered the shopping scene in Caracas, El Tolón has quickly become one of the most popular malls around Caracas, as can be witnessed by the sheer number of people that swarm it each day. The mall contains a very diverse range of products, including, apart from garments and footwear, gifts and toys, the latest in electronic items, high end cosmetics and perfumes, opticians, pharmacies, two cinema houses, and a host of trendy diners serving up delectable local and international menus.

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Centro Commercial Sambil

Modest dress

Address: Avenue Libertador intersection at Los Ángeles, Chacao district Phone: 212 263 9323 Timings: Mondays to Saturdays 11am to 9pm, Sundays and holidays 12noon to 8pm Sambil is believed to be the largest mall in all of South America. It is not uncommon, especially during the first weekend of every month, to see people from all around the country who just come to spend a full day of shopping at the mall before returning to their own cities towards the evening. A visit to the mall on any such day is sure to be filled with exciting, enlightening, and sometimes even amusing moments. The mall is a visual treat in itself, fusing elements of formal, modern architecture with the city’s rich cultural heritage. Spread over five floors, its dozens of elegant boutiques are a pleasure for any kind of shopper. Come here for the designer apparel, shoes, and fashion accessories that are hard to find anywhere else around the city – at such good prices, anyway. Sambil is one place where you can get ridiculously expensive items at somewhat reasonable prices. The large variety of items on apparently permanent year-round sales, coupled with the Caraqueños’ inherent love for shopping, make this mall a first choice for everyday shoppers as well as window-shopping social anthropologists. The mall contains two small cinema houses and more than a dozen decent restaurants serving up Asian, French, Spanish, and Italian cuisine. The top floor also houses an arena for the game-loving shopper. Word of advice – always keep your valuables in a safe place, especially your ID’s. Lots of people means lots of pickpockets!

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Centro Plaza

Address: Avenue Francisco de Miranda, Los Palos Grandes neighborhood Phone: 212 507 8800 Timings: Mondays to Fridays 9am to 12noon, 230pm to 630pm You will easily recognize this tall, slim office block with its glittering glass façade and the golden colored “Centro Plaza” sign on the front. The Centro Plaza is tucked away on the lower five floors of a 20-floor office building, and is a relatively unknown shopping center considering the shopping craze of the Caraqueños. This might be because it specializes mostly in office goods, electrical equipment, audio visual gadgets, videogame stores, and quite affordable designer clothing and footwear for youngsters and teens. The mall also contains a sizeable fitness and sports equipment section. For this reason you will often find, as opposed to the families and couples at other malls, groups of local teenagers rambling around its premises, ogling and whistling at girls passing by, sitting in one of the many courtyard cafes sipping away on simmering coffee, and enjoying the slower pace of city life. Centro Plaza has a large underground parking lot (owing to the fifteen floors of office space it also houses), a mini-theater, and a grocery mart.

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Metro Center

Address: Avenue Baralt and Avenue Universidad intersection, El Silencio district Phone: 212 482 7646 A relatively new and stylishly designed mall, Metro Center has yet to achieve the attention of the crazy Caraqueño shopper crowd. The mall is located in a fairly secluded part within the old central district, almost devoid of traffic when compared to the highway rage Caraqueños have to face every day. Metro Center offers a general collection of garments and accessories, everyday items, and home décor. The mall is more popular with the tourist crowd, however, for the sheer number of fast food outlets it contains – it is the perfect spot to stop for a quick bite during a tour of the old city. From Asian to American and all that is in between, topped with juices and shakes from around the world, you can find anything to your taste in these more than three dozen diners even if you do nothing more than window shop.

Address: north of Plaza Bolivar Timings: open daily (including holidays) Originally constructed as a majestic church, the National Pantheon was converted in 1874 to act as the last resting place for many of Venezuela’s prominent personalities, based on their outstanding achievements in fields of politics, warfare, social service, and education and science. The central, focal space within the pantheon is reserved for Simon Bolivar’s remains. The ceiling contains murals depicting scenes from Bolivar’s life. The body itself is contained within a sarcophagus of bronze housed within a polished marble niche, and the burial chamber reeks of immortal grandeur. More than a hundred other notable personalities are buried within the Pantheon, all the chambers designed with special attributes and elements that had significant symbolic meaning to the person buried within. Overall, the Pantheon is a genuine example of neo-colonial baroque style architecture, with pale pink paint, overly done columns, intricate arches, and grand cupola-topped towers.

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Teatro Nacional

Attraction

Also known as the Municipal Theatre, this public amenity is a splendid work of art in itself. Since its first live performance in 1881, an opera that received national recognition, the theatre has successfully continued to lure music and art lovers to its rather commendable performances. The interior is ornamented in tones of opulent luxury, with velvets and fine silks and an added sprinkle of gold. A large central dome over the performance area attempts to re-create the ambience of a 19th century opera performance. The theater usually has one or more ongoing shows throughout the year, and you are sure to catch one any time you drop by. Splurge on traditional Venezuelan and South American ballets, musicals, and operas. Tickets are quite reasonable, and they are seldom sold out to the full.

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Cuisine: Middle Eastern Address: Avenue Sur, Centro Phone: 212 860 4230 Timings: Mondays to Saturdays 11am to11pm

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Doña Caraotica

Cuisine: Local Address: Avenue Principal, Las Mercedes Phone: 212 993 0116 Timings: open 24 hours! A place to grab cheap but fulfilling arepas overflowing with meat, vegetable, fruit, or chicken fillings as per your taste, topped with an assortment of cheese types. You can also treat yourself to the variety of traditional soups, all spicy, all hot, and all oh-so-tasty. Specials on the menu include the mondongo stew (prepared with beef, served with sliced vegetables), and the favorite dish of the Caraqueños, the pabellon criollo, a serving of beef rice, topped with black beans. The service is polite and efficient, but may be a bit slow. However, the food is definitely worth the waiting time!

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La Nueve Casa de los Chinos

Cuisine: Chinese Address: Avenue Baralt, Centro Phone: 212 481 0741 Timings: Mondays to Saturdays 11am to 4pm, 7pm to 11pm A small, relatively undiscovered Chinese eatery tucked away in the heart of the Central downtown area, with no apparent indications nearby to guide you to its authentic Oriental offerings. A very simple seating arrangement, with minimal attention to the details of interior décor, but Szechuan and Cantonese dishes that would keep you wanting to revisit it every time you get the craving for a Chinese meal. Saffron rice, eggplant casseroles, steaming stews, and seafood smeared with the spiciest of sauces make this diner a favorite spot for the Chinese population of Caracas – a clear indication of the authenticity that this place offers!